NFL Wild Card Saturday: Texans, Saints Cruise

The 2011 postseason kicked off yesterday with the Houston Texans beating the Cincinnati Bengals 31-10 in the early game followed by Drew Brees and the New Orleans Saints taking down the Detroit Lions 45-28 in the nightcap. The games played out in remarkably similar fashion as they saw close, competitive contests in the first half before the home teams took charge in the second half and each had the games pretty much wrapped up by the middle of the 4th Quarter. Both losing teams played hard and showed some of the tenacity that got them into the playoffs but in the end both games really came down to the winning team taking advantage of their opponent's mistakes while the losers failed to do the same.

Drew Brees and the Saints continued to set offensive records as they have been doing all season, this time setting the mark for total yards in a postseason game with 626, featuring 466 passing yards from Brees to go along with 3 TDs. The Lions came out strong in the game, scoring on their first possession and held a 14-10 lead at halftime. However the Saints passing attack would prove too much for the Lions and after taking a 17-14 lead on the opening drive of the second half with a beautiful 41-yd strike from Brees to WR Devery Henderson, never looked back. Lions QB Matt Stafford (380 pass yds, 4 TDs including one rush) and (nearly) unstoppable receiver Calvin Johnson (Megatron became the 3rd wideout in NFL history with over 200 receiving yards and 2 TDs in a playoff game, doing it on 12 catches) gave it their all and got the game as close at 24-21 in the 3rd. However the high-octane Saints got a 17-yd TD run from spark plug Darren Sproles on their next drive (shortly after the Lions secondary dropped their third potential INT) and then intercepted Stafford on the next drive before Brees quickly delivered the kill shot on a 56-yd bomb to a wide open Robert Meachem. I have the Saints going to the Super Bowl this year and they were the superior team last night however Detroit did play well enough to show that they deserved to be there and should be an NFC contender for the foreseeable future as they mature and improve of defense.

The Texans and Bengals matchup, as I said before, played out in much the same fashion. In a showdown of two rookie QBs, the two teams traded blows in an evenly matched first half before the game turned in the final minute of the first half when Texans' defensive lineman J.J. Watt picked off Cincy QB Andy Dalton and took it 29 yards to the house to break a 10-10 tie. Dalton and the Bengals continued to battle in the 3rd but, much like the Lions, failed to take advantage of a possible interception of Houston rookie T.J. Yates before giving up a 40-yd TD pass from Yates to All-World WR Andre Johnson late in the quarter. Two more Dalton picks in the 4th Quarter and an overpowering 42-yd TD run down the sideline by Pro Bowler Arian Foster sealed the deal and gave the Texans their first playoff victory in the first postseason game in franchise history. The key to Houston's success this year has been their mightily improved Defense orchestrated by new DC Wade Phillips. They will play the Baltimore Ravens next week which should be a great defensive battle. The Texans have been a great success story this year and one can only imagine where they might be if they hadn't lost Pro Bowl starters QB Matt Schaub and OLB Mario Williams to injury for the season. The Bengals were also a surprise after a down 2010 season and the departure of long time QB Carson Palmer that thrust Dalton into the starting role as a rookie. The Bengals have a nice core of young talent lead by Dalton and Pro Bowl rookie WR A.J. Green which bodes well for their future however the team's 8th loss of the season wasn't all that surprising considering all 8 or those loses came at the hands of playoff teams.